98

GROUND-ENGAGING TOOLS

Rules of engagement
Ailbhe Goodbody looks at the types and functions of ground-engaging tools (GETs) used in the mining
industry, and speaks to some of the main providers about their newest developments
MTG provides a
hammerless GET
system

The more
aggressive
the work
you are
using a
machine
for, the
more you
need to
have highquality
GETs

ETs are specially designed sacrificial pieces of metal that have two
main purposes increasing
machine productivity and protecting the
more expensive structural components
from wear. The term covers components
such as teeth, shrouds and cutting edges
that are used on a range of mining
machinery, such as excavators, wheel
loaders, draglines, dozers and rope shovels. They are usually made of a harder or
higher wear-resistant material than the
rest of the machine.
GETs protect the exposed areas of
machinery that are subject to the greatest
force and wear, such as buckets or blades.
For example, GETs are used on the
leading edge of bucket lips and on the
underside of buckets.
The lip of the bucket is the area most
prone to wear, explains Paul Schild,
global product line manager at Sandvik.
Traditionally these lips were cut from
plate steel. Due to the restrictions of
quenching plate steel, the hardness and
wear characteristics of a bare steel lip are
not as robust as the cast GET product, so
they have a reduced wear life compared
with GETs.
Craig Turner, GET marketing
customer services support at Caterpillar,

adds: Using GETs to shield base edges

and sidebars from impact and abrasion
helps extend their lives. This sacrificial iron
is often mechanically attached, which
enables faster replacement than cutting
and welding.
Matching GET products to the machine
and its application increases productivity
by reducing cycle times. For example,
using a sharper tooth design to penetrate
hard material better enables the loading
machine to load more trucks per hour,
increasing production and reducing
downtime.
Brant York, national accounts manager
at H-E Parts Distribution, notes: With the
correct GETs on the bucket or blade, the
job of digging or pushing material is
made easier.
Good sharp GET products allow
buckets to cycle through material more
easily, reducing wear and tear on the
bucket or blade, as well as reducing the
fuel consumption of the machine.
Joan Cesar Galobardes, product
manager at MTG, says: I would conclude
that the more aggressive the work you are
using a machine for, the more you need to
have high-quality GETs.
GETs are very important; operating
without them would increase the wear on

the bucket or blade system, so its lifetime

would be reduced dramatically.
Operating without GETs would
destroy the bucket or blade system,
driving up operating cost per tonne or
cost per operating hour, cautions Turner.
Imagine throwing out your whole razor
every week instead of just changing the
razor blade.
Swann Blaise, marketing manager at
Liebherr, says: No repairs would be
possible, and users would probably have
to change the complete bucket every
week or month depending on the
materials abrasiveness. Users would have
to bear a tremendous cost due to
consequential damages and frequent
bucket change-out.
Turner explains: The mechanical
stresses would be transferred to and
cause damage to other components, such
as loader lifting arms, shovel stick and
boom and hydraulic systems. Operating
costs and downtime would increase
further.
York agrees: Bucket teeth need to be
changed before you wear into the pocket
of a tooth, and bolt-on blades changed
before they wear into the base edge of
the bucket.
Cesar adds: GETs are essential in

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GROUND-ENGAGING TOOLS

buckets. The cost of the bucket is much

higher than the cost of the pieces
protecting it, so it makes sense not only
to use them, but also to invest in
high-quality GETs to maximise the life of
the bucket.
Without GETs, the penetration
performance of the bucket or blade would
also reduce markedly, making it an
ineffective digging tool and lessening the
machines ability to penetrate and
produce.
Doug Pierce, global product manager
for mining and GET at ESCO, says:
Without GETs, machine production
would go down, first from less penetration and secondly from additional
downtime for welding repairs.
Finally, if such a machine did not have
GETs, it would need to work much harder,
so the fuel consumption of the machine
would significantly rise. Cesar states:
One of the most important operating
costs of the machinery is fuel, and it is
unquestionable that GETs are indispensable to improve productivity and reduce
production costs.

WEAR LIFE
Although GETs are designed to be
durable, they do wear out and have to be
replaced. Regular inspections are
important to identify any wear or cracks.
GET replacement frequency varies by
each site and sometimes even within a
site. Schild says: Machine hours can vary
in range from 400 hours to 4,000 hours
for a complete set of GETs on the lip of a
bucket.
The companies that MM spoke to
unanimously agreed that while there are
some GET products that can be recycled
in other applications, generally it does not
make sense to rebuild GETs, as the costs
of doing so would be much higher than
simply replacing them for new ones.
GET components are often worn to
destruction or failure, so components
such as bucket teeth and cutting edges
are used once and then discarded. In
terms of cost efficiency, simply replacing
the components also avoids lengthy
machine downtime.
Pierce explains: Rebuilding GETs is a
case of diminishing returns, because heat
from welding takes the heat-treating out
of the parent steel.
The time it takes to replace GET
components can vary from five minutes to
five weeks, depending on the size of the
component and the manpower required.
There are several factors that affect the
amount of wear on GET systems, such as
the type and abrasiveness of material
mined, the condition of the terrain,
operator experience and technique,

blasting technique and the material that

the GET is made from.
The material being worked and its
abrasiveness is one of the most important
factors in how fast a GET component
wears, and typically ores with a high
quantity of silica, such as quartzite, are the
most abrasive and so are tougher on
bucket teeth and edges.
Blaise from Liebherr says: We would
classify mine-types from the least abrasive
to the most abrasive as follows: coal,
limestone, overburden, copper, iron ore,
platinum, nickel and gold.
There are various shapes or profiles of
bucket teeth that have been designed to
provide optimal penetration and
performance for the machine in each
application.
Digging in tightly compacted abrasive
conditions may require a tooth profile that
is slimmer so that it will break out the
material and allow the bucket to cycle
quicker, explains York.
This results in less wear and tear on
the bucket and less machine fuel
consumption. This profile will not last as
long as a heavier, thicker-profile tooth, but
it does have the advantage of minimising
wear and tear on the bucket.
The quality of the steel can also impact
wear life. Cesar from MTG says:

You have to
balance abrasion
resistance with
material
toughness

Liebherr GETs
being changed

Reaching the right balance between

hardness and ductility, plus making sure
that the steel is free of impurities, is key,
not only to increase the wear life of the
products but also to avoid breakages.
Turner adds: You have to balance
abrasion resistance with material
toughness. Of course, the challenge with
a wear product is ensuring that the performance gains exceed the cost of delivering
the special material.
The operator can also influence the
wear of GETs according to his or her way
of operating the machinery. Turner
remarks: The best alloy and heat-treated
product can be destroyed quickly by an
inexperienced operator.

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Sandviks GETs
are specifically
designed for
underground
loaders, with
integrated
bucket solutions

AirBlast
belt wiper
systems
Using heavy-duty lowmaintenance direct-drive
blowers, Air Blast belt wiper
systems remove carry back
material off of the bottom side of your conveyor.
Use it alongside primary/secondary scrapers, or by itself
in the case of a pleated belt.
Available in a range of pressures
and widths to accommodate
various sizes of belts and
types of carry back material.

www.airblastinc.com
toll-free: (866) 424-7252

www.

99

sales@airblastinc.com

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100 GROUND-ENGAGING TOOLS

A longerliving tip is
no good if
the adapter
or coupler
fails before
the tip
wears out

Extending the wear life of GETs

typically increases productivity, because
the machine has less downtime, the
number of maintenance intervals is
reduced and there is more time for
production work. This also results in
reduced costs.
Pierce warns: However, the key is
to extend wear life while assuring that
the GET continues to penetrate at an
effective rate so that production
continues at a high rate. Blunt GETs
that dig poorly increase the cost of
production.
Turner adds: Ensuring the components
wear as a system is key. For example, a
longer-living tip is no good if the adapter
or coupler fails before the tip wears out.
On a motor-grader cutting edge, you can
extend wear life by 50% by replacing a 6in
(15cm) edge with an 8in (20cm) edge as
long as the edge wears evenly.
Cesar says: One of our clients works
with a Komatsu PC3000 shovel at a gold
mine in Mexico that experiences a high
level of impact and a medium level of
abrasion. They used to replace the GETs
on average every 450 hours. Now with
MTG tools and under the exact same
application, they replace the GETs every
1,200 hours on average thats an
increase of 266%.

OEM providers

Some OEMs provide GETs for their equipment rather than relying on tools from other
companies. Des Jarvis, product marketing manager, mechanical drive mining equipment at Komatsu America, says: R&D and customer support are improved by
controlling the development of new products, and it speeds up the communication
process between the end user and factory. Turner agrees: When you engineer the
entire machine, you work to optimise system performance. You can take a production
focus rather than a component focus.
designed to endure the typical work that
a machine in that size class performs,
CATERPILLAR
explains Turner.
Caterpillars GETs are engineered and
Knowing that there are extreme
built to perform in tandem with its
applications at both ends of the spectrum,
buckets and machines. The company says
we offer tips that place wear material in
that each GET and bucket system is
the most critical areas and offer speciality
optimised for high productivity and low
overlay products, such as tungsten
cost per tonne of material moved.
carbide, that greatly extend the life of the
Caterpillar offers GET products and
base component.
a customisation programme for Cat
The Cat K-series tooth system has a
mining products, such as large wheel
lower tooth profile, which the company
loaders, large track-type tractors, motor
states provides better penetration and
graders and underground loaders (LHDs).
helps maintain sharpness for longer. In
In addition, Caterpillar has been actively
addition, the company says it can increase
designing and testing GETs for surface
expected tooth life by up to 15%, and
extraction machines such as draglines,
that the tips can be changed in roughly
rope shovels and hydraulic shovels since
half the time of most other types of tip.
Caterpillar acquired Bucyrus in 2011.
The K series features a twist-on
GET components are engineered to a
procedure to make installation easier and
specific machine size and intended use.
quicker, and also reduces tip movement
For example, Caterpillar offers a range of
and allows the tip to grip the adapter
bucket tips designed for the Cat 994
tighter the harder it digs into tough
wheel loader. That range of tips is
materials. This reduces tip vibration and
loosening. A larger amount of wear

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GROUND-ENGAGING TOOLS

Komatsu
Komatsu offers GETs such as teeth, cutting edges,
adapters, ripper shanks, edge segments, pins, wear
plates and bars for excavators, wheel loaders,
bulldozers and motor graders. Komatsu offers both
Hensley and KVX GET systems, allowing customers
to choose the most appropriate and cost-effective
solution for their application.
The extreme service (XS) range features Hensleys
hammerless pinning system, which eliminates the
need for heavy hammering and makes for safer
tooth changeover and rotation. A conventional
socket is all that is required to unlock and lock the

tracce.com

material than usual is applied on the

K-series tips for an increased wear life.
Tips are secured with a one-piece
retainer that installs vertically in the tooth,
rather than being hammered through
holes in the sides.
Opposing sloped side rails and flanks
help to keep the tip on the adapter nose
when the retainer is installed and
removed. On-site, the rails and flanks help
to stabilise the tip and reduce the load on
the retainer.
Cat GETs are supported by experts
who thoroughly understand machine
functions and mine applications,
comments Turner. Cat dealers have the
capabilities to rebuild each bucket system
for the exact productivity and protection
required. The Cat dealer network reaches
even the most remote of mining sites and
achieves the availability expectations of
each mining operation.
GETs are currently in development for
Caterpillars rope shovels, hydraulic
shovels and draglines, and examples of
these were shown at MINExpo International in September 2012. Caterpillar
plans subsequently to offer GETs for all
the mining machines in its range.
You can find Cat GETs in most mines
even on competitors machines, says
Turner. Cat wheel loaders, tractors and
other legacy machines are factoryequipped with Cat GETs, and
development of GETs for the
former Bucyrus machines is
progressing quickly.

101

pin fastener. Pins are also re-useable, further

reducing costs. The hammerless pin system can drastically cut tooth changeover time, the company says.
KVX GETs are a system, where the lip and other
GET components work together. They feature
recessed bolt heads for better penetration and
productivity, high-strength KVX bolts that enhance
impact resistance, and flat-faced GET components
that can be re-used as wear and impact liners
elsewhere in the mining operation. Sagitta steel, a
very hard and tough type of steel, may be used in
extreme conditions to increase GET life.

HTH 30.12

THE BIGGEST
ROUGH TERRAIN
TELESCOPIC
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ROTATING TELESCOPIC HANDLERS RANGE:

RTH 4.18 RTH 5.18 RTH 5.21 RTH 5.23
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HANDLERS RANGE:
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come to visit us at our stand in

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A Caterpillar loader bucket

with associated GETs

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.com April 2013

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GROUND-ENGAGING TOOLS
LIEBHERR
Liebherrs Z tooth system is compatible
with its mining backhoes and face-shovel
hydraulic excavators from R 9100 up to R
9400 models. The system is available in
three tooth profiles (CL, CR and P) and in
five sizes (Z90, Z100, Z110, Z120 and
Z140), and can be used in a range of
applications from well-blasted material to
very hard ground.
The CL profile has a long-drawn
pointed shape that provides a sharp
cutting edge for penetration in rocky and
blasted material up to medium compacted ground, while the wide, thick CR
tooth delivers long service life in abrasive
soils and blasted rock applications,
making it ideal for a bottom dump bucket
configuration. Liebherr says that the
pointed shape of the P profile offers
optimal penetration for very hard and
compacted ground applications.
Liebherr buckets and GETs are designed
to work in harmony to deliver an optimised,
vertically integrated mining solution. To
increase machine uptime and reduce the
amount of tooling to one extraction tool,
the teeth, shrouds and wing shrouds are
equipped with a single locking system. In
addition, the wear cap does not need a
locking system as it slips onto the adaptor
and is locked by the tooth.
Blaise says: As a mining hydraulic
excavator supplier, Liebherrs main
objective is to increase and master its
machines productivity from heart to tip.

Sandvik
Sandviks GETs are specifically designed
for underground loaders. However,
there have been some fittings on
surface stockpile loaders where a
continuous lip system is used. All
Sandvik GETs are made from quenched
and tempered cast alloys, with a
selection of raw materials such as steel,
molybdenum and nickel chrome.
The Sandvik mechanically attached
GET is made from the companys
highest material specification to suit
the most abrasive ground conditions,
says Schild. We also supply a weld-on
system with a slightly reduced spec
that would suit less aggressive ground
conditions.
Sandvik GETs are fitted to about
2,200 loaders globally on Sandvik
machines as well as those of competitors. Sandvik currently factory-fits GETs
on 55% of its new loaders each year.
The company has plans to trial a new
mechanically attached heel shroud on
one of its LH621 loaders in April at
Xstratas Mount Isa mine in Australia.

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103

Independent providers

There are also a number of independent GET manufacturers whose products are
designed for, or can be adapted to fit, a range of machines. MM asked several of
these providers about their product ranges.

COLUMBIA STEEL
Columbia Steel is a major manufacturer of
wear parts for draglines and mining
shovels globally. The companys engineers
work closely with maintenance supervisors
to develop products, such as the R-Lock
and Dynaclamp tooth/adapter system.
Columbia Steel says that the R-Lock
device for securing teeth makes removal
and replacement simple and efficient, as
all that is needed is a hex socket and
handle. The Dynaclamp systems adapters
can be safely installed and removed
without heat or hammers.

COMBI WEAR PARTS

Combi manufactures wear parts for
excavators and loaders, including its
ProClaws system that can be used on
machines from 25t to 250t. The system is
designed to efficiently absorb the impact
forces it is exposed to, so that the teeth
maintain maximum sharpness while in
operation. The system has a slim profile
for optimal penetration. The coupling
geometry has been simplified and
strengthened, and the tooth slides into
place with minimal effort.
The tooth, adapter and lock have all
been equipped with a new wear indicator
to signal when the part is no longer
performing optimally and is due for a
change. Combi states that utilising the
wear indicators will prevent failure or
breakage of parts, minimise downtime
and improve safety.
The assembly is held in place by a
vertical top-mounted locking device,
which Combi says reflects the market
demand and optimal design from an
engineering standpoint. The company has
applied for a patent on a new locking
mechanism for ProClaws. The lock is
made out of boron steel, which, after
hardening, becomes very strong and
extremely durable. The company
explained that the advantage of the new
locking mechanism is to ease the
mounting and dismounting without the
need for intricate tools or sledgeham-

mers. Only a sleeve and a

ratchet are needed, which makes it very
user-friendly. The new locking mechanism,
which is available via the companys
distribution network, can be reused
several times and fits ProClaws installations that are already on the market.
The company has recently launched
heavier ProClaws products for excavators
in the 200-250t weight class. The range
includes adapters, teeth and lip shrouds
designed for cutting edges of 120mm
thickness. They will be followed by the
same parts for 140mm lip thickness. Two
sizes are available W40 and W50 with
teeth weighing between 60kg and 90kg.
Combi Wear Parts has mining
customers in North and South America,
Africa, Europe and Asia.

Combis
ProClaws has a
slim profile for
optimal
penetration

Columbia Steels
R-Lock device for
securing teeth

ESCO
ESCO offers complete GET packages for
draglines, wheel loaders, rope shovels
and excavators, including tooth
equipment, shrouding, mechanical wear
protection and weld-on wear protection.
The companys tools are made from
several different alloys that are selected
for each individual GET item. In addition
to alloy selection by GET type, the
company also offers a full complement of
overlay products as options for much of
its GETs, such as the ESCO E3 overlay for
high-abrasion, low-impact applications.
ESCO E3 overlays are applied during
the GET manufacturing process to

ESCOs Nemisys
is a complete
mining lip and
GET system for
272-726t class
hydraulic
excavators

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104 GROUND-ENGAGING TOOLS

We are
able to
increase the
productivity
of the
machines by
combining
different
steel
compositions with
specialised
designs that
target
specific
applications

prevent welding on a fully hardened

casting, which can cause failures, says
Pierce. We consult our customers to
assure that when using one of our E3
overlays, we select the right overlay
option and apply it in the correct pattern
to optimise either penetration or wear
life, or both.
ESCO introduced the Nemisys system
at MINExpo last year. Nemisys is a
complete mining lip and GET system for
272-726t class hydraulic excavators, which
won the Mining Magazine 2012 award for
surface mining (soft rock).
The company plans to expand the
Nemisys product line to dragline lips and
shovel dipper lips, and has a few other
major mining product introductions
coming in the next two years.
Most mining operations around the

world use ESCO products in some facet of

their operations, notes Pierce.
ESCO has excellent relationships with
major OEMs supplying machines globally.
ESCO also has distribution in growing
mining markets around the world to
support our products.

MTG
MTG offers high-quality tooth-adapter
systems designed to increase the
productivity of machines such as
excavators, loaders, shovels and dozers.
MTG also offers other products such as lip
and wing shrouds, and corner heel
shrouds that can be used on loaders and
excavators.
MTGs hammerless system is one of
the biggest assets of our products, says
Cesar. When you need to replace or

H-E Parts
H-E Parts offers the GETtuf line of
high-performance wear parts, including:
ripper teeth offered in long,
intermediate and short profiles for
different applications;
ripper shanks and shank guards;
bolt-on blades for rubber tyre
loaders, motor graders and scrapers,
with half-arrow profile wear
segments and bolt-on edges that
protect the loader bucket base
edges rather than standard
double-bevelled bolt-on edges; and
bucket teeth of various profiles,
including short, long, heavy-duty,
penetration and abrasive teeth, as
well as adapters and fasteners for
support excavators and tracked
excavators.
Many of the companys GETtuf
bucket teeth are designed with a
specific profile, so that they start off

sharp and continue to maintain a sharp

profile as they wear. H-E Parts also
offers GET products with tungsten
carbide for extended wear life, which
can be custom applied depending on
wear patterns experienced in the
tougher jobs.
H-E Parts Distribution (HEPD) uses
different steel specifications based on
the use of each component, explains
York. We use them for our complete
range of bucket teeth, bolt-on
adapters, weld-on adapters and ripper
shanks.
The difference is that a bucket tooth
needs a higher hardness and impact
resistance compared with an adapter
that is welded onto the bucket with a
lower hardness and needs to have some
flex to reduce breakage.
The companys GETtuf cutting edges
are running on Cat D10N dozers at a
mine site in Elko, Nevada, US. They
were installed as replacement
components.
H-E Parts
provides the
GETtuf line
of highperformance
wear
parts

remove the wear parts, it is much faster,

easier and safer for the operator.
In most of the cases, depending on the
size of the GET, a single operator alone
can reposition and replace them. This
feature is useful in compacted terrain
applications where changing the GET can
be particularly complicated.
Cesar adds: We have a case in Spain
where a client works on a compacted
terrain with high levels of humidity; it was
so extreme that before using MTGs
hammerless system, the only way for the
user to remove the GET was cutting them
off with a blow torch. Using MTG
products, they are now able to remove
and replace the wear parts normally.
The wear in the corners of a bucket
tends to be higher than in the centre,
since the corners are usually more
exposed to abrasion; replacing the parts
manually means that the machine
operator can check the repositioning,
meaning that the final wear process will
be more uniform.
MTG uses different steels based on the
product nature and in some cases, based
on the application.
We are able to increase the productivity of the machines by combining different
steel compositions with specialised
designs that target specific applications,
explains Cesar. In some applications and
products, we use tungsten carbide and
other materials to extend the life of
teeth.
MTGs GETs may be factory-fitted or
installed after sale, and the company
claims that in either case they will give the
same performance. MTGs designs are
optimised so that the tools continuously
self-sharpen and most of the material
wears out evenly.
The MTG Whisler adapter, which was
presented for the first time at MINExpo,
can be combined with the TMA500WH1
tooth for electric cable shovels. It has
been used on P&H 4100 and Bucyrus 495
shovels at a mine in Sweden, where the
material is medium-impact and highly
abrasive. During the three-month test
phase, the machines moved 476,000t of
material.
Cesar comments: MTGs target for the
next five years is completely focused on
mining. We are expanding our current
range of products and developing several
new ones.
Later this year, MTG will inaugurate a
new factory in Spain that will exclusively
produce the companys range of GETs,
with a particular focus on the larger sizes.
There are also many product launches
planned in 2013-15, including those for
draglines, front shovels and electric cable
shovels.

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